Urzila Carlson – Man Up | NZ International Comedy Festival 2015

I’ve had the chance to see a few snippets of Urzila Carlson in action at this year’s comedy fest and they’ve been entertaining and smart – but her full-length show takes it to a completely new level and is an absolute BLAST.

This is the grand cocktail hour of comedy, from the opportunity to listen to Carlson’s iPod playlist and receive a multi-generational introduction to her personal musical choices; her refusal to pick on her audiences (except for the loudmouth); an invocation to smile more (not withstanding the ramifications of excess because that could hurt) and, to top it all off, a smooth effortless commentary on gender, social equality and of course, bringing babies into the world when you’re a lesbian.

Carlson is brilliant. Poised at the edge of Skycity theatre’s stage with twinkly stars behind her, she delivers her set with sass and style plus a dash of improv that never fails to get laughs from the audience. Man Up is laced with personal anecdotes and it’s clear the South-African-born Kiwi from West Auckland isn’t shy about bringing some hard-hitting truth to her audience. But she does so with such style that her 700 strong crowd is rocking right along with her.

The script feels fresh and some of the more familiar jokes are perfectly timed. The ending itself is super and wraps up a fabulous night of one of NZ’s best comics.

A strong woman, loud and proud she offers you a night of laughs that you just can’t resist.